


Help Our Souls

by beaniek4



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 06:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14910401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beaniek4/pseuds/beaniek4
Summary: He knows Zach isn’t looking down on him, that he’s just concerned, but it still hurts his pride that its obvious he’s no longer able to fight alongside everyone like he used to. Maybe one day, in the far future, he’ll be able to once again do things with ease. It’s just one of those ideals he’s gotten impatient waiting for.





	Help Our Souls

**Author's Note:**

> Lmao I started writing this and it was supposed to be Justlex, but then I changed it to Zalex. Whoops.

“What the hell were you thinking, Alex?” Zach asks harshly as he dabs at some blood on his temple. They’re together in the school bathroom, both of them fixing themselves up after the big fight. It wasn’t planned, for sure, but definitely something that has been a long time coming, especially between Justin and Bryce. However, something even more unexpected by the others involved was Alex joining in on the riot.

Alex himself didn’t think he’d get involved. He saw what was going on, and, despite knowing he was at a disadvantage, decided he couldn’t stay on the sidelines when he noticed Montgomery trying to beat the shit out of Zach, someone he’s grown close to in the past several months. His memories have slowly been coming back, and the rage that came with them were felt at full force, especially in that moment. Seeing Montgomery once again using his fists—this time at a close friend—and fighting on the opposite side as usual brought something out of Alex.

Unfortunately, the strike with his cane against Montgomery was the only one given before the two of them exchanged words and he got thrown to the side. Alex had wished he could’ve done more, could’ve helped out, but there weren’t any other options once Montgomery was done with him. He gives Zach a side-eye look as the other throws away a bloody tissue and grabs for a clean one. “I wanted to help. Is that such a terrible thing?”

He hears Zach sigh softly. “It’s not, but you could’ve gotten really hurt. You’re lucky you’re only bruised in a couple places.” He knows Zach isn’t looking down on him, that he’s just concerned, but it still hurts his pride that its obvious he’s no longer able to fight alongside everyone like he used to. Maybe one day, in the far future, he’ll be able to once again do things with ease. It’s just one of those ideals he’s gotten impatient waiting for.

Suddenly Zach’s standing in front of him, looking expectant for some reason. Alex cocks an eyebrow at him. “What?”

A small smile appears and then vanishes just as quickly on Zach’s face. “Let me see your shoulder.”

Alex scoffs at that. He may have been thrown to the ground, but his injuries were in no way as severe as Zach’s—or even the others. Zach is the one who was bleeding on the side of the head. But he knows Zach isn’t going to take no for an answer, since his request has to do with his wellbeing, so he goes ahead and turns a little to where the back of his right shoulder is facing the other. Zach gently pulls down the collar of Alex’s shirt, far enough to where a good amount of skin is made visible. The expanse of skin is a mix of blue and green with splotches of purple around the edges. Alex cranes his neck so he can assess the damage as well. He’s surprised at how bad it looks, mostly because it doesn’t hurt too bad. Yeah, it’s swollen and tender, but it seems to look worse than it actually is.

Zach brushes him thumb over the area, earning a small gasp of surprise from Alex. “Monty’s a piece of shit,” Zach says, bitterness evident in his voice as he lets go of the shirt’s collar. Alex shrugs as he looks forward again. “You sound like you’re now just realizing it.” Zach laughs at that, burying his nose into the spot where Alex’s neck and collar connect. They stand there, just like that, until they hear the bell ring. Neither of them talk about it.

—

Alex’s mind is elsewhere. He’s gotten good at blocking out his surroundings. Right now he’s not in the mood for listening in on Clay or Scott’s conversation. He just hopes that detention will go by fast. He doesn’t want to be in here with all of these people—especially Bryce. Although he can’t help but not realize Zach’s gaze on him throughout their time there. He finds he also doesn’t mind it that much.

—

“We’re gonna get those polaroids,” Alex says.

He and Zach are in the car on their way to some desolate area that Scott told them about. The others are supposed to meet them there. They’re all hoping that things will be in their favor once they get their hands on that box. Also, a few of them are possibly on the hunt for revenge against Monty—namely Clay and Tony. Alex can feel the gun he has hidden away burning a hole through his pocket. He knows Monty’s the one who gave it to him. That guy has always been a pain in the ass, but it’s only recently that Alex has realized how twisted Monty truly is. First the thing with covering up Hannah’s rape, then fucking with him and the others through sick “jokes”. It’s no wonder he’s friends with Bryce. They both have horrible ideals of morality.

“You sound confident,” Zach replies, huffing out a small chuckle.

He is, he supposes. It helps that he has a gun.

—

He finds himself sitting on the front porch steps of Zach’s house. “I shouldn’t have gone alone. Fuck, that was so stupid of me.” Zach’s next to him, rubbing comforting circles into his back. “Hey, man, it’s gonna be okay. We’ll figure something out.” Alex wants to believe it, but he can’t find it in himself to do so. Instead, he leans into Zach’s touch, resting his head on the other’s shoulder. Zach’s hand stops its motions and goes to wrap around him, pulling him in closer, their knees bumping into each other. Alex lifts his head up to stare into Zach’s eyes. He’s unsure who leans in first, but either way they find themselves briefly kissing.

—

Alex can’t dance. It’s not something he was ever really good at, and he’s even more so bad at it now that he can’t walk properly. He didn’t even know why he asked Jessica to the dance. He likes her, yeah, but maybe not in the way he made it out to be. Besides, now he feels he has to learn how to dance or else he’s going to awkwardly be sitting alone the whole time, and he doesn’t want that. He voiced those concerns to Zach, which is how they ended up in this situation.

He’s trying not to lean so much on Zach as the other helps him learn how to dance. Even though he grumbles about how embarrassing it is, he finds he’s actually enjoying himself. Even though neither have them have brought it up, there's no doubt that there's some kind of spark between them—as cheesy as that sounds. He makes sure to keep his head down, because he knows if he faces Zach that he might try to kiss him, and he doesn't want to accidentally ruin this moment. Of course, there's always the possibility of Zach reciprocating—it's a very high possibility—but he still worries something bad will happen. Life likes to go against against him.

Alex notices that Zach has stopped moving them around, and then there's a hand lightly touching the visible scar on his head. He tenses slightly until he remembers who he's with. Zach would never make fun of his scar, would never find him ugly because of it. He sharply inhales when he feels soft lips press to the area, and he allows his eyes to flutter close, leaning into the touch. Zach pulls away after a moment to look at him. Despite not wanting to do so earlier, Alex finds himself looking up to lock eyes with the other. This time he's sure it's Zach who leans in first. They meet halfway however, and Alex can't deny the shiver that runs through his body. His hands grip at Zach's shoulders as the kiss deepens, Zach's arms wrapping around his waist and pulling their bodies even closer together. After a bit, Zach breaks the kiss to be able to catch his breath, and Alex is a little disappointed that the kiss ends earlier than he wanted it to. Then again, he was also running out of breath. They take in each other's appearances before grins appear on both of their faces.

"Does this mean we can go to the dance together?" Zach asks bashfully. Alex answers him with another kiss.


End file.
